Starting out, Where's my shrimp :O

[H4X1MA]

Hello everyone!

I have a simple question, but a long story

My History: I have had a turtle for 8 years in a 75 gallon tank. Along with him there was (not sure of the actual name) a sucker fish that is about 3" long. Recently I added a small outdoor pond in my yard, and a few weeks later my turtle was murdered by crows

With a 75 gallon tank only housing a "sucker", I decided it was time to invest in some fish. After some talk with a few pet stores, it was determined that if the tank was able to sustain the sucker, it would be able to house other fresh water fish.

So I went out and bought the food, de-chlorinator, bubblers, etc. along with 7 fish to get started. I cannot remember the names of any of these, but they are all community fish that are non-aggresive (according to the pet store). I got them home, did a half water change (to maintain bacteria levels), refilled the tank, added the dechlorinator, and set the fish free from their bagged jail cells.

They all seem to get along fine, there are 2 orange ones (I think they are sword tails) that were a little skiddish at first, but after a few hours they joined in the fun.

The Question:
After a little freshwater research online I decided that I wanted to get some shrimp. So I went out and got 2 bamboo shrimp, gave them the 15 count, then set them free from their bagged jail cells. They were just walking around the bottom for awhile, as I would imagine that they normally would.

After a few hours, i go back to the tank to check on them and they are nowhere to be found. I took pretty much every decoration out of the tank, still no sign of them. After while I did spot one of them latched onto the tank heater, but a few minutes later he was gone.

I just looked at wikipedia and they say that bamboo shrimp like fast currents and will latch onto something near the filter. The problem is, I have a fluval canoster filter, which has just a tube that goes into the water. This tube is big enough that the shrimp could swim up in there, but would they actually do that?

I also have a big castle in the tank that has a lot of hard to view spots in it, even when it is out of the water. I took it out for a few seconds to search for them, no luck.

The tank base is the typical colorful blue rock that you see, can the shrimp dig?

And, I do not have a cover on the tank yet (ordered it), but if they were to jump out I would be able to see them on the floor, or can shrimp walk on land? I wouldn't think that they could.

(p.s. I did read that shrimp should only be added to a tank after a few months since they are filter eaters. But the tank has been set up for years so I figured it would be ok. )

 

[xarumitzu]

If I had to take a guess, I'd say they could have climbed out. I used to have a bamboo shrimp and he was quite the escape artist. I used to catch him trying to climb into my HOB all the time.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

my guess is they are hiding somewhere. yes it is possible they could climb up tube. you may want to check your filter. ive watched my cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp climb thru the rushing water of the filter and go right in and feed away. so my guess yes they are there. also depending on the fish you have in your tank, they may be trying to eat the shrimp. if you can please post pics and we can identify your fish.

with shrimp they also want you to add them on a stable tank because they are sensitive to water parameters

 

[H4X1MA]

Well i cleaned my filter out and didn't see them, they either climbed out, which I can imagine would be possible since the water level is like 3" below the top, or they are hiding out very good. Still no sign of them though.

I'll give the tank some more time and try again.

 

[H4X1MA]

I spoke 20 minutes too soon, I just went to look at the tank for a minute and I noticed what I thought was a dead shrimp. After taking a closer look I ralized it was just his "shedding". So I took the castle out of the water and gave it a little wack on the ground and guess what fell out of the deep holes of the castle!

 

[tropicalcrazy]

lol thats good

 

[H4X1MA]

Here are the fish I have so far. I would also like to add some Killi's, Loaches, Friendly Catfish, and some Guppys.


These guys are the quiet ones of the tank (pictured right), rarely found apart from each other. And also seem to have a problem cleaning themselves after a poo.

This is the sucker who is going on 2 years old

I have 2 of these, they were very shy when I first put them in the tank, but they have quickly become the rulers. They also pretty much stay side by side.

And these guys are just crazy. They wouldn't stay still for a picture, and the 3 of them play tag all day. Sometimes I wonder if they are fighting, but it all ends well. One of them I am guessing would be the male of the group, his fins are very decorative and he/she just looks awesome while swimming around (pictured on top). One of them, not pictured, is almost completely black. I named him X

 

[tropicalcrazy]

1st pic of 2 on right are 2 blue gouramis

2nd pic looks like a common pleco

3rd pic is a swordtail

4th pic looks like lyretail mollies

 

[H4X1MA]

ok cool, I need to make a list.

I also made a list of fish that I would like to put into the tank, but I'm not sure how many fish is overstocking for a 75 gallon. Someone at petco told me 1 fish per gallon, but that doesn't seem right...

Do you see any problem with adding the recommended amount of the following? Would these all get along? And would you know the recommended amount of each to have? I know I ask a lot

killi
Guppy
Sterba’s Cory
Kuhlis Loach

 

[tropicalcrazy]

inch per gallon is a general rule lots of ppl use but there are many fish that give off more or less poo so not always necessarily true.

i wouldnt add anymore to your gouramis and know that your pleco can get up to 18" long and if you have a planted tank they will destroy the plants and uproot because of their size not intention. with swordtails if you do anymore make sure your ratio is 3-4 females per male (males will have a long sword looking tail females will be rounded like in your pic of yours) if you add more know they can breed like crazy so if you dont want that then you may want to stick with just females.

in the fish you mentioned, from what ive learned killis are very sensitive and harder to keep fish so you may want to rethink but if you go forward do MUCH research and talk to ppl that have had them otherwise i dont have any further info for you on them.

guppies you could add a few but also know that you can get quickly overrun in your tank from them and i believe they can have up to 80 fry each time.

cories i dont know much about but i think you need to keep them in pairs or more.

kuhli loaches i have no idea about.

if all will go together you should be fine in wise of stocking.

i dont know much other info on these guys because ive never kept or done research so we need someone else's input here

 

[OrangeCones]

Sterba’s Cory
Kuhlis Loach

tropicalcrazy gave good advice

Regarding the cory and loach additions: Both of those fish need soft substrate (like sand). Kuhli loaches will borrow in it, and the cory cats' barbles will get worn off if kept over sharper gravel.

 

[lauraf]

Yep, Tropicalcrazy was spot on. And OrangeCones is right about the loaches and cories. If what I see from these pics that your whole tank bottom has the large blue gravel, it will be too sharp for cories. They do fine in small, rounded gravel like I have tho', not just sand
Killis are going to be too small and sensitive for your tank.
In a 75, you might be able to add another pair of gouramis - yellows work well with blues.
You can go crazy on livebearers like more mollies, swordtails, platies or guppies - given that you might get an explosion of baby fry that either need to be rehomed or culled if the tank gets too overpopulated.
Your plecos are okay for now - but they will get huge! Like over a foot each!
If you would like some bottom-active fish like loaches or catfish, you will probably have to redo your substrate. In a 75g with small-grained gravel or sand, though, you could do lots.
Other kinds of community fish that would work with what you have now include angelfish and tetras or minnows - you could do a huge school of cardinal tetras or harlequins, a group of emperor tetras, or even rainbowfish.
Cheers,
Laura

 

[H4X1MA]

Well over the last week I lost a few fish due to cycling. 2 of the Mollies, and 1 swordtail. I think my cycle is doing well, my levels seem to be acting correctly.

Still no sign of the shrimp, they wont leave the castle! I find this weird. According to the research I have done, these shrimp like to be in a current, this castle has no current at all running through it (at least the area's that they are hiding in. Anyone know A way to make them come out and play?

good things to know about the substrate, I can do sand you say? There's no issues that the filter would run into using sand? I like that idea. I didn't figure that those blue rocks were actually sharp, they don't seem it to the human touch anyway.

And it's funny that you mention the babies! The swordtail that I have left is popping them out like crazy, it was 1 a few days ago, 5 this mornin, and 10+ as of right now :| I really don't want to kill them